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Kate Middleton was written about in the U.K. press "like she's from the ghetto" but the characterization was "ludicrous," according to a resurfaced TikTok clip.
The Princess of Wales was not an aristocrat when she met Prince William at St. Andrew's University and much was written about her middle class, rather than upper class, heritage.
However, Jack Whitehall, who starred alongside Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson in Jungle Cruise, cast her childhood in a very different light having attended the same private school as the future queen.
A resurfaced clip from the time of Kate and William's 2011 royal wedding showed Whitehall mocking the media depiction of the princess on the BBC's The Graham Norton Show.
He said: "That's the most ludicrous thing. This Kate Middleton thing of being… she's the first commoner to marry into the royal family and they write about her like she's from the ghetto.
"Marlborough College made Midsummer Murders (a British crime drama set in small country villages) look like The Wire, right. We had one Black guy in the entire school who was my friend called Daniel who the headmaster used to use in every single school photograph to make our school look more diverse.
"It was like, 'oh yeah, go on, put yourself on the end there.' 'But I wasn't in the first 11 cricket team.' 'Well you are now, Daniel.'
@bestmomentsofinteverview Jack Whitehall went to school with Kate Middleton? #fy #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #viral #grahamnorton #grahamnortonshow #grahamnortonfunny #jackwhitehall #thegrahamnortonshow #adele #mirandahart #katemiddleton
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"So, she was there but I wasn't there at the same time as Kate Middleton but I know people who went out with her. I knew people who went out with her at school. I was so envious because if I got with the queen at school I would never shut up about that s*** for the rest of my life."
Kate's great-grandfather was a coal miner and her grandfather a builder, while her mother and father both worked for British Airways before setting up their own business, Party Pieces, which was sold this year after going into administration.
The princess clearly is from a more ordinary family background than many royal spouses, including her mother-in-law Princess Diana, who was born Lady Diana Spencer.
And there were times when her family were called out by journalists for social faux pas that would pass without notice in most cafes, restaurants and pubs.
For example, in 2007, four years before the royal wedding, James Whitaker, then Daily Mirror royal correspondent, told Reuters that during a parade at Sandhurst Military Academy: "Kate's mother spent the entire ceremony chewing gum. She has got to cut that out if her daughter is to marry Prince William."
Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more